Press Releases

CONTACT:
Rowena Forest, (415) 663-0314 x105
National Marine Sanctuary Program

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS) is seeking applicants to fill sanctuary advisory council seats representing research, conservation, maritime activity, education and community-at-large interests. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The sanctuary will select a primary member and an alternate for each of the five vacant seats. Members and alternates will serve two- or three-year terms. Current holders of seats may re-apply. The advisory council meets four to five times a year in daytime public sessions located throughout Marin and Sonoma counties.

Applicants are chosen based upon their expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying. Considerations include community and professional affiliations, views regarding the conservation and management of marine resources, and the length of residence in the area affected by the sanctuary.

Sanctuary advisory council member application packages are available at the sanctuary Web site, http://cordellbank.noaa.gov, or can be obtained by calling (415) 663-0314, ext.105. Completed applications must be submitted to Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, P.O. Box 159, Olema, CA 94950, or by fax at (415) 663-0315 by close of business January 15, 2004.

The Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council was established to advise NOAA on management of the sanctuary, including public education, research, monitoring and the protection of natural and maritime heritage resources. The council has members representing education, research, conservation, maritime activity, and community-at-large. The government seats are held by representatives from NOAA Fisheries, the United States Coast Guard, and the managers of the Gulf of the Farallones, Monterey Bay, and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuaries. The Council holds four regular meetings per year, and one in the summer for an annual retreat.

Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, designated in 1989 and encompassing 526 square miles, protects a productive offshore seamount on the West Coast, where the combination of ocean conditions and undersea topography creates a highly diverse marine community. The bank rises to within 115 feet of the sea surface with water depths of 6,000 feet only a few miles west. The prevailing California Current flows southward along the coast, and the upwelling of nutrient rich, deep ocean waters stimulates the growth of organisms at all levels of the marine food web. It is a destination feeding ground for many marine mammals and seabirds. The site is located 60 miles northwest of San Francisco, Calif.

NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program seeks to increase public awareness of America’s maritime heritage by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration and educational programs. Today, the sanctuary program manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one coral reef ecosystem reserve that encompass more than 150,000 square miles of America’s ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources.

NOAA’s National Ocean Service manages the NMSP and is dedicated to exploring, understanding, conserving and restoring the nation’s coasts and oceans. The National Ocean Service balances environmental protection with economic prosperity in fulfilling its mission of promoting safe navigation, supporting coastal communities, sustaining coastal habitats and mitigating coastal hazards.

The Commerce Department’s NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.

On the Internet:
NOAA - http://www.noaa.gov
National Ocean Service - https://oceanservice.noaa.gov
National Marine Sanctuary Program - http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary – http://cordellbank.noaa.gov